Rationale for Access to Local Justice Systems: The Case of Village Court in Bangladesh

Abstract

This article intends to highlight the rationale for access to local justice mechanisms and village court that can play a significant role towards access to justice for the rural community in Bangladesh. The paper is basically based on the review of secondary materials. Previously the term ‘access to justice’ had only been perceived as an individual's possibility to get justice through legal bodies or legal representation. But now the meaning is more than that and has gained new forefront and quest in development agenda. It is obvious that access to local justice is now regarded as a fundamental instrument of ensuring human rights, good governance, inclusive and sustainable development as well as a process of tackling poverty, inequality, lawlessness and discrimination. Yet, the majority of the people in the globe, particularly developing economics have the dearth of access to formal courts. Moreover, the quest for access to justice in Bangladesh has historically rooted in the formal and informal structure of local justice mechanisms. The evidence suggests that the village court in Bangladesh is the only state-sponsored local justice system and is also believed that village court is the most accessible, affordable, convenient and viable opportunity for grassroots community as opposed to the formal judicial process. Despite having drawbacks, village court has been playing a significant avenue of the marginalized people for access to justice and a mechanism in settling petty local disputes and helps the formal judicial system to lessen its workloads. Therefore, the article concludes that access to local justice mechanism is needed to promote and tackle broader structural, social and economic issues of the country.